Railroad News

North Carolina Railroad Co.'s (NCRR) board last month elected Michael Walters as chairman. He succeeds Franklin Rouse.

Walters has served on the railroad's board since 2015 and chaired its Audit and Finance Committee since 2015. He also serves on the boards for Forestry Mutual Insurance Co. and the North Carolina Forestry Association.

American Honda Motor Co. moved nearly 48,000 vehicles through the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, during its 2017 fiscal year.

That figure marks a nearly threefold increase over the previous fiscal year, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) officials said in a press release. Honda moved 34,700 more vehicles in FY2017 than it did in FY2016.

Ontario has closed its request for proposals to design and build a new Kipling Station in Toronto.

The move marks the start of the project's next phase of procurement, Ontario Ministry of Transportation officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has appointed Christian Zacariassen chief information officer, the railroad announced yesterday.

As CIO, Zacariassen will be responsible for all information technology (IT) business systems, including strategy, technology investment portfolio governance, systems development, infrastructure, IT operations and information security.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed New York City-area transit agencies and passenger railroads to step up security after a man killed eight people and injured nine others in what authorities have said was an act of terrorism in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has increased security patrols and surveillance across all its agencies, according to a press release issued by Cuomo's office.

October was the best month for U.S. intermodal traffic in history, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported yesterday.

U.S. railroads' carload traffic last month declined 0.1 percent to 1,065,777 units, but the number of intermodal units rose 6.4 percent to 1,144,157 containers and trailers compared with October 2016 figures, AAR officials said in a press release.

Robert Vaughan has been named to the governing board of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA).

He'll serve as the business representative for the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, SFRTA officials said in a press release.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) later this month will host three public hearings on the King of Prussia Rail project.

To be held Nov. 13 and 15, the meetings will include an open house and presentation about the project, which calls for extending SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line into King of Prussia and Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania.

Popular Science magazine has recognized Sound Transit's technology for operating light-rail trains across a floating bridge as one of the most important engineering innovations of 2017.

As part of its 14-mile East Link extension, the agency plans to build light rail on the Homer M. Hadley vehicular bridge over Lake Washington near Seattle

New Jersey Transit has lengthened the light-rail platforms by 25 feet at the Exchange Place Station in Jersey City, the agency announced earlier this week.

At 190 feet, the extended platforms now can accommodate extended light-rail cars on the Hudson-Bergen Line. The longer cars contain 102 seats, while the regularly sized units have 68 seats. The extended cars also feature more room for riders to stand.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor will receive a $9.85 million FASTLANE small project grant toward the port's nearly $20 million expansion, port officials announced yesterday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao confirmed the port received congressional approval for the grant, according to a Ports of Indiana press release.

Amtrak launched Northeast Regional daily service to and from Roanoke, Virginia, yesterday, returning passenger-rail service to the city for the first time in nearly four decades.

Amtrak, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and Roanoke officials partnered to bring the service back to the city, marking the fourth expansion of Amtrak service in Virginia since 2009.

Total intermodal volumes rose 6.3 percent in third-quarter 2017 compared with the same period a year ago, marking the strongest growth rate in three years, the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) reported today.
 
During the quarter, international volume climbed 8.2 percent, the domestic container market increased 3.8 percent and trailer loads posted the strongest growth number at 8.4 percent compared with third-quarter 2016, according to IANA's "Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics" report.

"This quarter's results show a continued recovery for all three intermodal segments, marking three consecutive quarters of growth, a first in six years," said IANA President and Chief Executive Officer Joni Casey.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. awarded a $28 million design-build subcontract to Granite Construction Inc. to work on Sound Transit's planned light-rail operations and maintenance facility in Bellevue, Washington. Granite's scope of work includes site demolition, site grading, utilities installation, pedestrian-trail construction and asphalt paving. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2017 and will wrap up by late 2020. The facility will provide storage and maintenance for 96 light-rail vehicles.

American Railcar Industries Inc. (ARI) reported third-quarter 2017 net income of $8.9 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with $7.7 million, or 40 cents a share, in the same period in 2016. Total revenue for the quarter fell 17 percent to $120.7 million versus $145 million last year. The drop resulted from decreased revenue in the manufacturing segment, partially offset by increased revenue in the rail-car leasing and services segments. During 2017's third quarter, ARI shipped 618 rail cars for direct sale and 338 rail cars for lease versus 855 units for direct sale and 322 cars for lease during the same period last year.

Caltrain this week will host community meetings to share information on its electrification project.

The first will take place tomorrow in Redwood City, California. Caltrain staff will be on hand to discuss how the electrification project will affect the city and the North Fair Oaks neighborhood.

The League of Railway Industry Women (LRIW) has appointed Tanis Peterson president, the association announced yesterday.

Peterson serves as director of operations and regulatory affairs for the Railway Association of Canada. She began her rail career as a conductor for Canadian Pacific.

The Port of South Louisiana will invest $9.5 million to build a railroad for Dow St. Charles that will be capable of handling 250 rail cars, port officials announced yesterday.

The port will provide property and the railroad, which Dow will lease, according to a press release.

New York City is the most sustainable city for transportation in North America, according to Arcadis' recent "sustainable cities mobility index."

The index ranks sustainable transportation practices across 100 cities worldwide. The index takes into account more than 20 mobility elements that are essential to a city's competitive advantage, economy and sustainability, Arcadis officials said in a press release.